Because of where the Calgary Flames sit at their midway point of the NHL season — last in the Western Conference — it would be cruel to do a report card.

Seriously, who wants to see that many failing grades?

As the Flames kick off the second half of their season Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings (7:30 p.m.,

TSN, Sportsnet 960), there have been a handful of disappointing turns of events.

That said, it hasn’t been all lowlights for the club.

So in the spirit of balance, we’ll post the five aspects of the Flames this season we believe deserve ‘thumbs up’ and list five deserving ‘thumbs-down’ aspects.

5 Thumbs up

1. The emergence of T.J. Brodie

As a third-year pro and in his second year as full-time NHLer, it makes sense a player would take his game to another level, but not all do.

Brodie may not have put together the offensive numbers people may want — he’s essentially on the same pace as last season — but he’s improved his all-around game by leaps and bounds, to the point he was put on the top pairing with Jay Bouwmeester last game.

If that pairing can click better than Bouwmeester and Mark Giordano did early this season, it will serve the Flames well.

There will be tough days for Brodie in that role, since he faces many of the league’s top players, but those growing pains will pay dividends down the road provided he learns.

The next step will be as a regular in the penalty-kill rotation.

2. Has Jay Bouwmeester finally arrived?

When the defenceman arrived in Calgary for the 2009-10 season, the expectations were high.

Bouwmeester, with his incredible skating ability, came off a 15-goal, 42-point season for the Florida Panthers, so thoughts were he should at least match those totals for a Flames club which was much better at that time.

Things haven’t turned out that way.

Whether it’s playing for a new coach in Bob Hartley or for whatever reason, Bouwmeester has shown the offensive attack the Flames and their fans were looking for, with four goals and 12 points so far this season.

His name has been bandied about in the rumour mill since summer, so what the future holds is anybody’s guess.

3. A powerplay that’s actually scoring

Yes, it was a tough go with the man-advantage during the recent three-game losing skid, but the Flames powerplay has been a success story this season.

Before puck dropped on Tuesday’s action, the Flames sat 11th in the league with a 19.3% rating on the powerplay (17-for-88). And that’s after scoring just once in 13 chances over the last four games.

If you want proof the Flames have put together a more talented squad, there it is.

They still allow too many advantages go by the wayside because of an inability to gain the zone, but having a couple of units which can score on the powerplay is a huge advantage.

4. Goals, goals, goals

After watching last year’s Flames team flounder offensively — they finished 24th in the league in goals for — any improvement is welcome.

Right now, they’re right in the middle of the league in scoring.

Sure, creating offence this season has come at a cost to the defensive game, but if we’re talking about a team that’s going to miss the playoffs, it may as well be at least entertaining.

For the most part, the Flames games have at least been interesting, and after three seasons of low-scoring dull games that didn’t mean the playoffs, that’s a good thing.

The scoring-by-committee approach hasn’t meant more victories, but to their credit, the Flames have been getting offence from all corners.

5. People want Matt Stajan to stay

Not long ago, just saying Matt Stajan’s name brought out derision in this city.

The centre arrived in Calgary in the crosshairs having been a part of the Phaneuf trade, and things went from bad to worse for him after signing a four-year extension worth US$14 million.

To his credit, Stajan arrived this year thankful to have a clean slate with Hartley, and the veteran forward has done all he can to be a regular contributor.

It’s not fair to expect him to be a first-line centre, but he now has the confidence to be a perfect complementary role player on this team.

The fact he’s one of only two ‘plus’ players on the squad while playing against the opposition’s top lines says something about Stajan’s two-way play.

5 Thumbs down

1. Can’t sit on D-fence

Only the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders are surrendering more goals on a per-game basis than the Flames this season.

That’s not company you usually want to keep.

New Flames head coach Bob Hartley has implemented a system geared to be more up-tempo, but there’s no excuse for all the scoring chances surrendered by the club on a nightly basis. Likewise there’s no excuse for the number of goals allowed each game.

Sure, No. 1-goalie Miikka Kiprusoff missed a month due to injury and hasn’t been at his usual standards on either side of that spell, while the other netminders who’ve hit the ice haven’t exactly been Vezina Trophy candidates, but that excuse only carries so much water.

Last season’s club was at least in the middle of the pack defensively, and with how little turnover we’ve seen, it’s not like we’re talking about a team which can’t be better in its one zone.

2. Un-Kiprusoff-like in goal

The numbers don’t lie when it comes to Miikka Kiprusoff’s season.

In 10 starts, he’s posted a 3-5-2 record with a 3.43 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage.

Kiprusoff has held the opposition to two or fewer goals in only four of his games.

Make no mistake, the club’s porous defence hasn’t helped matters, and Kipper looked to be putting his game in order before being hurt in Detroit back on Feb. 5, but this is a team that absolutely needs better from its top netminder to even dream of making a run to the playoffs.

For Kiprusoff to be on the bench last game is akin to being a healthy scratch for a star forward. He needs more help from his teammates, but he’s the backbone for the club and must return to form.

3. The slow start of Jarome Iginla

The Flames captain doesn’t have a slow start to every season. It just seems that way because it’s happened more often than not in recent memory.

Iginla did nothing to dispel that reputation with just one goal in the first 16 games.

The fact this organization has never found the right centre to play with their franchise player is brutal (just imagine if they would have drafted Ryan Getzlaf instead of Dion Phaneuf in 2003, especially since Getzlaf was rated higher by Central Scouting). Likewise is the fact this team hasn’t found a player to take the torch from Iginla as the main man.

Amid all the trade speculation surrounding him, Iginla has rebounded from that sluggish start. As much as others need to step up, much of this club’s fortunes still rest on his shoulders, and it takes a toll on him when things aren’t going well.

4. Awful home cooking

As bleak as things are right now for the Flames, they head into Wednesday’s game looking for a fifth consecutive victory on home ice.

As a whole, though, it’s been tough times at the Saddledome for the Sea of Red.

The Flames wasted a golden chance to have a strong start to the season by winning just twice in their first nine clashes at the Dome (2-5-2) in what was a home-heavy schedule.

A few of those blown chances came against clubs which played the night before in either Vancouver or Edmonton.

It’s not that long ago clubs feared coming to Calgary, knowing they were likely to lose or at least knew they would pay a price if they left with two points in their pocket.

Until this recent winning streak, visiting teams weren’t left feeling frustrated or bruised.

5. The Battles of Baertschi

Anybody who expected rookie Sven Baertschi to score at a pace similar to what he did during last year’s five-game emergency stint — three goals — must feel letdown.

That said, even the most cautious predictions didn’t see the 2011 first-round draft choice mustering a mere one assist in 10 games before being sent to the minors.

To make matters worse, Baertschi suffered a pair of injuries, a suspected concussion in the minors and hip flexor during a Flames practice, which basically cost him two months of hockey.

Worse yet, his confidence was extremely low when he was sent to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat on the weekend.

Baertschi still has all the makings of a very good NHLer in time. It’s just been a rough start to his life in the bigs.